Why? Do you imagine that they were planning to smoke the bale themselves? Undoubtedly they were planning to distribute it. A prosecution for possession with intent is entirely justified.
And they have a chance to argue otherwise. The law permits a jury to infer intent when the weight of the marijuana seized is over a certain threshold; it doesn’t mandate it. If they can convince a fact-finder that they had no intent to distribute, they won’t get convicted of that charge.
If they had no means of contacting police from the beach, and picked up the bale to ensure that no one else got to it, and immediately approached police when they saw them… then they’re not guilty of any crime – they lack the requisite mens rea, and they have the affirmative defense of necessity.
Under those circumstances, I can’t imagine a prosecutor charging them, or a jury convicting them. But the moment they do something to weaken that story – like try to hide the bale, or fail to call the police at the first opportunity - then they lose the benefit of those believable defenses.
Regarding the reason for the sting with the maijuana bale, it is my understanding (and bear in mind that I got the story from my friend who bore more than a passing resemblence to Mike Judge’s Butt-Head in how he expressed himself), is that the bale had legitimately washed up on the beach and the police were watching it (from a concealed location with binoculars) to see if the original owners of the bale might try to retrieve it. They were doing it on the off-chance that they might be able to nail a larger operation. If anyone took the bale they would watch them for a while to see what they did. If they tried to put it in a car or go far from the scene, an officer would approach them to see what they did. If they tried to hide it or failed to tell the officer about it, they had enough to make an arrest. If they immediately told the officer or pointed it out, the police would just relieve them of the bale and let them go. My friend and his buddy were not quick or smart enough to realize that the best decision no matter what his original intent was, would have been to tell the officer immediately what they had found. Their chances of getting away with hiding it were slim. They would have risked nothing by telling about it. They would have been out the free bale, but that would have just left them even for the day. That would have been a hell of a lot better than going to county jail.
I wouldn’t know how to identify it. I wouldn’t try snorting some to see what it was. There would be no point in my taking it home, because I wouldn’t use it, and I don’t know a single person who uses it. My biggest problem then would be how to get rid of it again. So I’d just leave it there. I’ve got a thing about doing anything that would get me deported.
If I had found the coke a year and a half ago I probably would have kept it and thrown a bunch of coke parties with friends or something. If I found it today I would want NO part of it. I have known a couple of small time dealers but nobody who would deal with as large an amount as we are discussing. I’m sure I could find someone if I really wanted to but its just not worth my freedom or life. I might call the cops from a payphone and tell them it was there, I’d probably just walk away and forget I ever saw it.
I probably wouldn’t recognize it beyond “package of white powder”, but that’s enough that I would stay the hell away. I’d get back in my car, drive away, and keep my trap shut about it.
My sentiments precisely. Hide it somewhere unconnected with me in any way for quite a long while, and look out for opportunities to safely, profitably rid myself of it at some point.
Hah! This is thread is too funny. This allegedly actually happened to a friend of mine. The packages of said substance were found on the side of the road.
My friend and his sisters were put through private school in the Caribbean. At least the money was well spent.
One, I’d leave it in the road. I’m not compounding my idiocy by carrying that anywhere. IMNSHO, the fact that I cannot, in a casual look, see anyone watching the brick does not mean that it is unobserved.
If I have a cell phone I’d call the cops, if not I would drive to a pay phone to inform them of the location of the brick. And then I’d continue with what I was doing when I got struck by the stupid impulse in the first place.
